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Long, slow bus ride for South Alabama women's team Tuesday; may be same for men Wednesday

January 28 2014 weather

BROMPTON, Alabama -- Snow storms hit Alabama Tuesday January 28, 2014. Motorists couldn't make it up the steep grade of I-20 east just east of Brompton causing a bottle neck of vehicles at the foot of the hill. This scene was common through Alabama today with travelers stranded in the snow storm. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com).
(JOE SONGER)

The Jaguars' women's team left Mobile at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday on a bus heading to Atlanta to prepare for its game against Georgia State. The game, originally scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. CST, was initially moved up to 4 p.m. Wednesday and then, because of continued weather issues and unsafe roads, was moved back to a 3:30 p.m. CST start on Thursday as part of a doubleheader with the men's teams.

As of 7 p.m. CST Tuesday -- nine and half hours after departing Mobile -- the South Alabama women's team was still on the bus, trying to safely reach its hotel. Traffic in Atlanta, because of the number of people driving in the area and the weather conditions, created traffic snarls even greater than usual for the Atlanta area. At 7 p.m. the Jags were only a couple of miles from their hotel but traffic was moving quite slowly.

The men's team is scheduled to leave by bus for Atlanta Wednesday morning, but those plans may be altered, based on weather conditions and especially road conditions.

"Everybody has been very helpful in all this,'' South Alabama director of athletics Joel Erdmann said of his discussions with Georgia State officials and his own coaches and staff pertaining to travel and weather conditions. "I've talked with Matthew (Graves, men's head coach) and we'll take a look at things (Wednesday) morning. We've talked to the Alabama Highway Patrol and the Georgia Highway Patrol to see what the circumstances are and conditions are.

"It appears as though this stuff will blow through (Tuesday) night, however I'm not sure the temperature is going to get above freezing and if it doesn't, it's a matter of what conditions are the roads in. We'll talk again in the morning and see where we're at and make a good decision on what we might do.''

The men's game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday or 30 minutes after the completion of the women's game.

"Anytime you have inclement weather you want to make sure you;re making the best decision with safety in mind,'' Erdmann said. "We'll gather as much information as we can. It's a little bit of a fluid situation that's unique to our region, I guess you could say. ... We understand the gravity of the situation and we'll make the best decision we can.

"You always want to stay on schedule the best you can but you don't want to put people in harm's way. Not only the student-athletes, but also the fans.''